POSIX - Perl interface to IEEE Std 1003.1


NAME

POSIX - Perl interface to IEEE Std 1003.1


SYNOPSIS

    use POSIX;
    use POSIX qw(setsid);
    use POSIX qw(:errno_h :fcntl_h);
    printf "EINTR is %d\n", EINTR;
    $sess_id = POSIX::setsid();
    $fd = POSIX::open($path, O_CREAT|O_EXCL|O_WRONLY, 0644);
        # note: that's a filedescriptor, *NOT* a filehandle


DESCRIPTION

The POSIX module permits you to access all (or nearly all) the standard POSIX 1003.1 identifiers. Many of these identifiers have been given Perl-ish interfaces. Things which are #defines in C, like EINTR or O_NDELAY, are automatically exported into your namespace. All functions are only exported if you ask for them explicitly. Most likely people will prefer to use the fully-qualified function names.

This document gives a condensed list of the features available in the POSIX module. Consult your operating system's manpages for general information on most features. Consult the perlfunc manpage for functions which are noted as being identical to Perl's builtin functions.

The first section describes POSIX functions from the 1003.1 specification. The second section describes some classes for signal objects, TTY objects, and other miscellaneous objects. The remaining sections list various constants and macros in an organization which roughly follows IEEE Std 1003.1b-1993.


NOTE

The POSIX module is probably the most complex Perl module supplied with the standard distribution. It incorporates autoloading, namespace games, and dynamic loading of code that's in Perl, C, or both. It's a great source of wisdom.


CAVEATS

A few functions are not implemented because they are C specific. If you attempt to call these, they will print a message telling you that they aren't implemented, and suggest using the Perl equivalent should one exist. For example, trying to access the setjmp() call will elicit the message ``setjmp() is C-specific: use eval {} instead''.

Furthermore, some evil vendors will claim 1003.1 compliance, but in fact are not so: they will not pass the PCTS (POSIX Compliance Test Suites). For example, one vendor may not define EDEADLK, or the semantics of the errno values set by open(2) might not be quite right. Perl does not attempt to verify POSIX compliance. That means you can currently successfully say ``use POSIX'', and then later in your program you find that your vendor has been lax and there's no usable ICANON macro after all. This could be construed to be a bug.


FUNCTIONS

_exit
This is identical to the C function _exit(). It exits the program immediately which means among other things buffered I/O is not flushed.

abort
This is identical to the C function abort(). It terminates the process with a SIGABRT signal unless caught by a signal handler or if the handler does not return normally (it e.g. does a longjmp).

abs
This is identical to Perl's builtin abs() function, returning the absolute value of its numerical argument.

access
Determines the accessibility of a file.
        if( POSIX::access( "/", &POSIX::R_OK ) ){
                print "have read permission\n";
        }

Returns undef on failure. Note: do not use access() for security purposes. Between the access() call and the operation you are preparing for the permissions might change: a classic race condition.

acos
This is identical to the C function acos(), returning the arcus cosine of its numerical argument. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

alarm
This is identical to Perl's builtin alarm() function, either for arming or disarming the SIGARLM timer.

asctime
This is identical to the C function asctime(). It returns a string of the form
        "Fri Jun  2 18:22:13 2000\n\0"

and it is called thusly

        $asctime = asctime($sec, $min, $hour, $mday, $mon, $year,
                           $wday, $yday, $isdst);

The $mon is zero-based: January equals 0. The $year is 1900-based: 2001 equals 101. The $wday, $yday, and $isdst default to zero (and the first two are usually ignored anyway).

asin
This is identical to the C function asin(), returning the arcus sine of its numerical argument. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

assert
Unimplemented, but you can use die in the perlfunc manpage and the the Carp manpage module to achieve similar things.

atan
This is identical to the C function atan(), returning the arcus tangent of its numerical argument. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

atan2
This is identical to Perl's builtin atan2() function, returning the arcus tangent defined by its two numerical arguments, the y coordinate and the x coordinate. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

atexit
atexit() is C-specific: use END {} instead, see the perlsub manpage.

atof
atof() is C-specific. Perl converts strings to numbers transparently. If you need to force a scalar to a number, add a zero to it.

atoi
atoi() is C-specific. Perl converts strings to numbers transparently. If you need to force a scalar to a number, add a zero to it. If you need to have just the integer part, see int in the perlfunc manpage.

atol
atol() is C-specific. Perl converts strings to numbers transparently. If you need to force a scalar to a number, add a zero to it. If you need to have just the integer part, see int in the perlfunc manpage.

bsearch
bsearch() not supplied. For doing binary search on wordlists, see the Search::Dict manpage.

calloc
calloc() is C-specific. Perl does memory management transparently.

ceil
This is identical to the C function ceil(), returning the smallest integer value greater than or equal to the given numerical argument.

chdir
This is identical to Perl's builtin chdir() function, allowing one to change the working (default) directory, see chdir in the perlfunc manpage.

chmod
This is identical to Perl's builtin chmod() function, allowing one to change file and directory permissions, see chmod in the perlfunc manpage.

chown
This is identical to Perl's builtin chown() function, allowing one to change file and directory owners and groups, see chown in the perlfunc manpage.

clearerr
Use the method the IO::Handle::clearerr() manpage instead, to reset the error state (if any) and EOF state (if any) of the given stream.

clock
This is identical to the C function clock(), returning the amount of spent processor time in microseconds.

close
Close the file. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling POSIX::open.
        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
        POSIX::close( $fd );

Returns undef on failure.

See also close in the perlfunc manpage.

closedir
This is identical to Perl's builtin closedir() function for closing a directory handle, see closedir in the perlfunc manpage.

cos
This is identical to Perl's builtin cos() function, for returning the cosine of its numerical argument, see cos in the perlfunc manpage. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

cosh
This is identical to the C function cosh(), for returning the hyperbolic cosine of its numeric argument. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

creat
Create a new file. This returns a file descriptor like the ones returned by POSIX::open. Use POSIX::close to close the file.
        $fd = POSIX::creat( "foo", 0611 );
        POSIX::close( $fd );

See also sysopen in the perlfunc manpage and its O_CREAT flag.

ctermid
Generates the path name for the controlling terminal.
        $path = POSIX::ctermid();

ctime
This is identical to the C function ctime() and equivalent to asctime(localtime(...)), see asctime and localtime.

cuserid
Get the login name of the owner of the current process.
        $name = POSIX::cuserid();

difftime
This is identical to the C function difftime(), for returning the time difference (in seconds) between two times (as returned by time()), see time.

div
div() is C-specific, use int in the perlfunc manpage on the usual / division and the modulus %.

dup
This is similar to the C function dup(), for duplicating a file descriptor.

This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling POSIX::open.

Returns undef on failure.

dup2
This is similar to the C function dup2(), for duplicating a file descriptor to an another known file descriptor.

This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling POSIX::open.

Returns undef on failure.

errno
Returns the value of errno.
        $errno = POSIX::errno();

This identical to the numerical values of the $!, see $ERRNO in the perlvar manpage.

execl
execl() is C-specific, see exec in the perlfunc manpage.

execle
execle() is C-specific, see exec in the perlfunc manpage.

execlp
execlp() is C-specific, see exec in the perlfunc manpage.

execv
execv() is C-specific, see exec in the perlfunc manpage.

execve
execve() is C-specific, see exec in the perlfunc manpage.

execvp
execvp() is C-specific, see exec in the perlfunc manpage.

exit
This is identical to Perl's builtin exit() function for exiting the program, see exit in the perlfunc manpage.

exp
This is identical to Perl's builtin exp() function for returning the exponent (e-based) of the numerical argument, see exp in the perlfunc manpage.

fabs
This is identical to Perl's builtin abs() function for returning the absolute value of the numerical argument, see abs in the perlfunc manpage.

fclose
Use method IO::Handle::close() instead, or see close in the perlfunc manpage.

fcntl
This is identical to Perl's builtin fcntl() function, see fcntl in the perlfunc manpage.

fdopen
Use method IO::Handle::new_from_fd() instead, or see open in the perlfunc manpage.

feof
Use method IO::Handle::eof() instead, or see eof in the perlfunc manpage.

ferror
Use method IO::Handle::error() instead.

fflush
Use method IO::Handle::flush() instead. See also $OUTPUT_AUTOFLUSH in the perlvar manpage.

fgetc
Use method IO::Handle::getc() instead, or see read in the perlfunc manpage.

fgetpos
Use method IO::Seekable::getpos() instead, or see seek in the L manpage.

fgets
Use method IO::Handle::gets() instead. Similar to <>, also known as readline in the perlfunc manpage.

fileno
Use method IO::Handle::fileno() instead, or see fileno in the perlfunc manpage.

floor
This is identical to the C function floor(), returning the largest integer value less than or equal to the numerical argument.

fmod
This is identical to the C function fmod().
        $r = modf($x, $y);

It returns the remainder $r = $x - $n*$y, where $n = trunc($x/$y). The $r has the same sign as $x and magnitude (absolute value) less than the magnitude of $y.

fopen
Use method IO::File::open() instead, or see open in the perlfunc manpage.

fork
This is identical to Perl's builtin fork() function for duplicating the current process, see fork in the perlfunc manpage and the perlfork manpage if you are in Windows.

fpathconf
Retrieves the value of a configurable limit on a file or directory. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling POSIX::open.

The following will determine the maximum length of the longest allowable pathname on the filesystem which holds /tmp/foo.

        $fd = POSIX::open( "/tmp/foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
        $path_max = POSIX::fpathconf( $fd, &POSIX::_PC_PATH_MAX );

Returns undef on failure.

fprintf
fprintf() is C-specific, see printf in the perlfunc manpage instead.

fputc
fputc() is C-specific, see print in the perlfunc manpage instead.

fputs
fputs() is C-specific, see print in the perlfunc manpage instead.

fread
fread() is C-specific, see read in the perlfunc manpage instead.

free
free() is C-specific. Perl does memory management transparently.

freopen
freopen() is C-specific, see open in the perlfunc manpage instead.

frexp
Return the mantissa and exponent of a floating-point number.
        ($mantissa, $exponent) = POSIX::frexp( 1.234e56 );

fscanf
fscanf() is C-specific, use <> and regular expressions instead.

fseek
Use method IO::Seekable::seek() instead, or see seek in the perlfunc manpage.

fsetpos
Use method IO::Seekable::setpos() instead, or seek seek in the perlfunc manpage.

fstat
Get file status. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling POSIX::open. The data returned is identical to the data from Perl's builtin stat function.
        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
        @stats = POSIX::fstat( $fd );

ftell
Use method IO::Seekable::tell() instead, or see tell in the perlfunc manpage.

fwrite
fwrite() is C-specific, see print in the perlfunc manpage instead.

getc
This is identical to Perl's builtin getc() function, see getc in the perlfunc manpage.

getchar
Returns one character from STDIN. Identical to Perl's getc(), see getc in the perlfunc manpage.

getcwd
Returns the name of the current working directory. See also the Cwd manpage.

getegid
Returns the effective group identifier. Similar to Perl' s builtin variable $(, see $EGID in the perlvar manpage.

getenv
Returns the value of the specified enironment variable. The same information is available through the %ENV array.

geteuid
Returns the effective user identifier. Identical to Perl's builtin $> variable, see $EUID in the perlvar manpage.

getgid
Returns the user's real group identifier. Similar to Perl's builtin variable $), see $GID in the perlvar manpage.

getgrgid
This is identical to Perl's builtin getgrgid() function for returning group entries by group identifiers, see getgrgid in the perlfunc manpage.

getgrnam
This is identical to Perl's builtin getgrnam() function for returning group entries by group names, see getgrnam in the perlfunc manpage.

getgroups
Returns the ids of the user's supplementary groups. Similar to Perl's builtin variable $), see $GID in the perlvar manpage.

getlogin
This is identical to Perl's builtin getlogin() function for returning the user name associated with the current session, see getlogin in the perlfunc manpage.

getpgrp
This is identical to Perl's builtin getpgrp() function for returning the prcess group identifier of the current process, see getpgrp in the perlfunc manpage.

getpid
Returns the process identifier. Identical to Perl's builtin variable $$, see $PID in the perlvar manpage.

getppid
This is identical to Perl's builtin getppid() function for returning the process identifier of the parent process of the current process , see getppid in the perlfunc manpage.

getpwnam
This is identical to Perl's builtin getpwnam() function for returning user entries by user names, see getpwnam in the perlfunc manpage.

getpwuid
This is identical to Perl's builtin getpwuid() function for returning user entries by user identifiers, see getpwuid in the perlfunc manpage.

gets
Returns one line from STDIN, similar to <>, also known as the readline() function, see readline in the perlfunc manpage.

NOTE: if you have C programs that still use gets(), be very afraid. The gets() function is a source of endless grief because it has no buffer overrun checks. It should never be used. The fgets() function should be preferred instead.

getuid
Returns the user's identifier. Identical to Perl's builtin $< variable, see $UID in the perlvar manpage.

gmtime
This is identical to Perl's builtin gmtime() function for converting seconds since the epoch to a date in Greenwich Mean Time, see gmtime in the perlfunc manpage.

isalnum
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:isalnum:]]/ construct instead, or possibly the /\w/ construct.

isalpha
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:isalpha:]]/ construct instead.

isatty
Returns a boolean indicating whether the specified filehandle is connected to a tty. Similar to the -t operator, see -X in the perlfunc manpage.

iscntrl
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:iscntrl:]]/ construct instead.

isdigit
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:isdigit:]]/ construct instead, or the /\d/ construct.

isgraph
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:isgraph:]]/ construct instead.

islower
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:islower:]]/ construct instead. Do not use /a-z/.

isprint
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:isprint:]]/ construct instead.

ispunct
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:ispunct:]]/ construct instead.

isspace
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:isspace:]]/ construct instead, or the /\s/ construct.

isupper
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:isupper:]]/ construct instead. Do not use /A-Z/.

isxdigit
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using regular expressions and the /[[:isxdigit:]]/ construct instead, or simply /[0-9a-f]/i.

kill
This is identical to Perl's builtin kill() function for sending signals to processes (often to terminate them), see kill in the perlfunc manpage.

labs
(For returning absolute values of long integers.) labs() is C-specific, see abs in the perlfunc manpage instead.

ldexp
This is identical to the C function ldexp() for multiplying floating point numbers with powers of two.
        $x_quadrupled = POSIX::ldexp($x, 2);

ldiv
(For computing dividends of long integers.) ldiv() is C-specific, use / and int() instead.

link
This is identical to Perl's builtin link() function for creating hard links into files, see link in the perlfunc manpage.

localeconv
Get numeric formatting information. Returns a reference to a hash containing the current locale formatting values.

Here is how to query the database for the de (Deutsch or German) locale.

        $loc = POSIX::setlocale( &POSIX::LC_ALL, "de" );
        print "Locale = $loc\n";
        $lconv = POSIX::localeconv();
        print "decimal_point    = ", $lconv->{decimal_point},   "\n";
        print "thousands_sep    = ", $lconv->{thousands_sep},   "\n";
        print "grouping = ", $lconv->{grouping},        "\n";
        print "int_curr_symbol  = ", $lconv->{int_curr_symbol}, "\n";
        print "currency_symbol  = ", $lconv->{currency_symbol}, "\n";
        print "mon_decimal_point = ", $lconv->{mon_decimal_point}, "\n";
        print "mon_thousands_sep = ", $lconv->{mon_thousands_sep}, "\n";
        print "mon_grouping     = ", $lconv->{mon_grouping},    "\n";
        print "positive_sign    = ", $lconv->{positive_sign},   "\n";
        print "negative_sign    = ", $lconv->{negative_sign},   "\n";
        print "int_frac_digits  = ", $lconv->{int_frac_digits}, "\n";
        print "frac_digits      = ", $lconv->{frac_digits},     "\n";
        print "p_cs_precedes    = ", $lconv->{p_cs_precedes},   "\n";
        print "p_sep_by_space   = ", $lconv->{p_sep_by_space},  "\n";
        print "n_cs_precedes    = ", $lconv->{n_cs_precedes},   "\n";
        print "n_sep_by_space   = ", $lconv->{n_sep_by_space},  "\n";
        print "p_sign_posn      = ", $lconv->{p_sign_posn},     "\n";
        print "n_sign_posn      = ", $lconv->{n_sign_posn},     "\n";

localtime
This is identical to Perl's builtin localtime() function for converting seconds since the epoch to a date see localtime in the perlfunc manpage.

log
This is identical to Perl's builtin log() function, returning the natural (e-based) logarithm of the numerical argument, see log in the perlfunc manpage.

log10
This is identical to the C function log10(), returning the 10-base logarithm of the numerical argument. You can also use
    sub log10 { log($_[0]) / log(10) }

or

    sub log10 { log($_[0]) / 2.30258509299405 }

or

    sub log10 { log($_[0]) * 0.434294481903252 }

longjmp
longjmp() is C-specific: use die in the perlfunc manpage instead.

lseek
Move the file's read/write position. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling POSIX::open.
        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
        $off_t = POSIX::lseek( $fd, 0, &POSIX::SEEK_SET );

Returns undef on failure.

malloc
malloc() is C-specific. Perl does memory management transparently.

mblen
This is identical to the C function mblen(). Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather useless function.

mbstowcs
This is identical to the C function mbstowcs(). Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather useless function.

mbtowc
This is identical to the C function mbtowc(). Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather useless function.

memchr
memchr() is C-specific, see index in the perlfunc manpage instead.

memcmp
memcmp() is C-specific, use eq instead, see the perlop manpage.

memcpy
memcpy() is C-specific, use =, see the perlop manpage, or see substr in the perlfunc manpage.

memmove
memmove() is C-specific, use =, see the perlop manpage, or see substr in the perlfunc manpage.

memset
memset() is C-specific, use x instead, see the perlop manpage.

mkdir
This is identical to Perl's builtin mkdir() function for creating directories, see mkdir in the perlfunc manpage.

mkfifo
This is similar to the C function mkfifo() for creating FIFO special files.
        if (mkfifo($path, $mode)) { ....

Returns undef on failure. The $mode is similar to the mode of mkdir(), see mkdir in the perlfunc manpage.

mktime
Convert date/time info to a calendar time.

Synopsis:

        mktime(sec, min, hour, mday, mon, year, wday = 0, yday = 0, isdst = 0)

The month (mon), weekday (wday), and yearday (yday) begin at zero. I.e. January is 0, not 1; Sunday is 0, not 1; January 1st is 0, not 1. The year (year) is given in years since 1900. I.e. The year 1995 is 95; the year 2001 is 101. Consult your system's mktime() manpage for details about these and the other arguments.

Calendar time for December 12, 1995, at 10:30 am.

        $time_t = POSIX::mktime( 0, 30, 10, 12, 11, 95 );
        print "Date = ", POSIX::ctime($time_t);

Returns undef on failure.

modf
Return the integral and fractional parts of a floating-point number.
        ($fractional, $integral) = POSIX::modf( 3.14 );

nice
This is similar to the C function nice(), for changing the scheduling preference of the current process. Positive arguments mean more polite process, negative values more needy process. Normal user processes can only be more polite.

Returns undef on failure.

offsetof
offsetof() is C-specific, you probably want to see pack in the perlfunc manpage instead.

open
Open a file for reading for writing. This returns file descriptors, not Perl filehandles. Use POSIX::close to close the file.

Open a file read-only with mode 0666.

        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo" );

Open a file for read and write.

        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDWR );

Open a file for write, with truncation.

        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_WRONLY | &POSIX::O_TRUNC );

Create a new file with mode 0640. Set up the file for writing.

        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_CREAT | &POSIX::O_WRONLY, 0640 );

Returns undef on failure.

See also sysopen in the perlfunc manpage.

opendir
Open a directory for reading.
        $dir = POSIX::opendir( "/tmp" );
        @files = POSIX::readdir( $dir );
        POSIX::closedir( $dir );

Returns undef on failure.

pathconf
Retrieves the value of a configurable limit on a file or directory.

The following will determine the maximum length of the longest allowable pathname on the filesystem which holds /tmp.

        $path_max = POSIX::pathconf( "/tmp", &POSIX::_PC_PATH_MAX );

Returns undef on failure.

pause
This is similar to the C function pause(), which suspends the execution of the current process until a signal is received.

Returns undef on failure.

perror
This is identical to the C function perror(), which outputs to the standard error stream the specified message followed by ``: '' and the current error string. Use the warn() function and the $! variable instead, see warn in the perlfunc manpage and $ERRNO in the perlvar manpage.

pipe
Create an interprocess channel. This returns file descriptors like those returned by POSIX::open.
        ($fd0, $fd1) = POSIX::pipe();
        POSIX::write( $fd0, "hello", 5 );
        POSIX::read( $fd1, $buf, 5 );

See also pipe in the perlfunc manpage.

pow
Computes $x raised to the power $exponent.
        $ret = POSIX::pow( $x, $exponent );

You can also use the ** operator, see the perlop manpage.

printf
Formats and prints the specified arguments to STDOUT. See also printf in the perlfunc manpage.

putc
putc() is C-specific, see print in the perlfunc manpage instead.

putchar
putchar() is C-specific, see print in the perlfunc manpage instead.

puts
puts() is C-specific, see print in the perlfunc manpage instead.

qsort
qsort() is C-specific, see sort in the perlfunc manpage instead.

raise
Sends the specified signal to the current process. See also kill in the perlfunc manpage and the $$ in $PID in the perlvar manpage.

rand
rand() is non-portable, see rand in the perlfunc manpage instead.

read
Read from a file. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling POSIX::open. If the buffer $buf is not large enough for the read then Perl will extend it to make room for the request.
        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_RDONLY );
        $bytes = POSIX::read( $fd, $buf, 3 );

Returns undef on failure.

See also sysread in the perlfunc manpage.

readdir
This is identical to Perl's builtin readdir() function for reading directory entries, see readdir in the perlfunc manpage.

realloc
realloc() is C-specific. Perl does memory management transparently.

remove
This is identical to Perl's builtin unlink() function for removing files, see unlink in the perlfunc manpage.

rename
This is identical to Perl's builtin rename() function for renaming files, see rename in the perlfunc manpage.

rewind
Seeks to the beginning of the file.

rewinddir
This is identical to Perl's builtin rewinddir() function for rewinding directory entry streams, see rewinddir in the perlfunc manpage.

rmdir
This is identical to Perl's builtin rmdir() function for removing (empty) directories, see rmdir in the perlfunc manpage.

scanf
scanf() is C-specific, use <> and regular expressions instead, see the perlre manpage.

setgid
Sets the real group identifier for this process. Identical to assigning a value to the Perl's builtin $) variable, see $UID in the perlvar manpage.

setjmp
setjmp() is C-specific: use eval {} instead, see eval in the perlfunc manpage.

setlocale
Modifies and queries program's locale. The following examples assume
        use POSIX qw(setlocale LC_ALL LC_CTYPE);

has been issued.

The following will set the traditional UNIX system locale behavior (the second argument "C").

        $loc = setlocale( LC_ALL, "C" );

The following will query the current LC_CTYPE category. (No second argument means 'query'.)

        $loc = setlocale( LC_CTYPE );

The following will set the LC_CTYPE behaviour according to the locale environment variables (the second argument ""). Please see your systems setlocale(3) documentation for the locale environment variables' meaning or consult the perllocale manpage.

        $loc = setlocale( LC_CTYPE, "" );

The following will set the LC_COLLATE behaviour to Argentinian Spanish. NOTE: The naming and availability of locales depends on your operating system. Please consult the perllocale manpage for how to find out which locales are available in your system.

        $loc = setlocale( LC_ALL, "es_AR.ISO8859-1" );

setpgid
This is similar to the C function setpgid() for setting the process group identifier of the current process.

Returns undef on failure.

setsid
This is identical to the C function setsid() for setting the session identifier of the current process.

setuid
Sets the real user identifier for this process. Identical to assigning a value to the Perl's builtin $< variable, see $UID in the perlvar manpage.

sigaction
Detailed signal management. This uses POSIX::SigAction objects for the action and oldaction arguments. Consult your system's sigaction manpage for details.

Synopsis:

        sigaction(sig, action, oldaction = 0)

Returns undef on failure.

siglongjmp
siglongjmp() is C-specific: use die in the perlfunc manpage instead.

sigpending
Examine signals that are blocked and pending. This uses POSIX::SigSet objects for the sigset argument. Consult your system's sigpending manpage for details.

Synopsis:

        sigpending(sigset)

Returns undef on failure.

sigprocmask
Change and/or examine calling process's signal mask. This uses POSIX::SigSet objects for the sigset and oldsigset arguments. Consult your system's sigprocmask manpage for details.

Synopsis:

        sigprocmask(how, sigset, oldsigset = 0)

Returns undef on failure.

sigsetjmp
sigsetjmp() is C-specific: use eval {} instead, see eval in the perlfunc manpage.

sigsuspend
Install a signal mask and suspend process until signal arrives. This uses POSIX::SigSet objects for the signal_mask argument. Consult your system's sigsuspend manpage for details.

Synopsis:

        sigsuspend(signal_mask)

Returns undef on failure.

sin
This is identical to Perl's builtin sin() function for returning the sine of the numerical argument, see sin in the perlfunc manpage. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

sinh
This is identical to the C function sinh() for returning the hyperbolic sine of the numerical argument. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

sleep
This is identical to Perl's builtin sleep() function for suspending the execution of the current for process for certain number of seconds, see sleep in the perlfunc manpage.

sprintf
This is similar to Perl's builtin sprintf() function for returning a string that has the arguments formatted as requested, see sprintf in the perlfunc manpage.

sqrt
This is identical to Perl's builtin sqrt() function. for returning the square root of the numerical argument, see sqrt in the perlfunc manpage.

srand
Give a seed the pseudorandom number generator, see srand in the perlfunc manpage.

sscanf
sscanf() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead, see the perlre manpage.

stat
This is identical to Perl's builtin stat() function for retutning information about files and directories.

strcat
strcat() is C-specific, use .= instead, see the perlop manpage.

strchr
strchr() is C-specific, see index in the perlfunc manpage instead.

strcmp
strcmp() is C-specific, use eq or cmp instead, see the perlop manpage.

strcoll
This is identical to the C function strcoll() for collating (comparing) strings transformed using the strxfrm() function. Not really needed since Perl can do this transparently, see the perllocale manpage.

strcpy
strcpy() is C-specific, use = instead, see the perlop manpage.

strcspn
strcspn() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead, see the perlre manpage.

strerror
Returns the error string for the specified errno. Identical to the string form of the $!, see $ERRNO in the perlvar manpage.

strftime
Convert date and time information to string. Returns the string.

Synopsis:

        strftime(fmt, sec, min, hour, mday, mon, year, wday = -1, yday = -1, isdst = -1)

The month (mon), weekday (wday), and yearday (yday) begin at zero. I.e. January is 0, not 1; Sunday is 0, not 1; January 1st is 0, not 1. The year (year) is given in years since 1900. I.e., the year 1995 is 95; the year 2001 is 101. Consult your system's strftime() manpage for details about these and the other arguments. If you want your code to be portable, your format (fmt) argument should use only the conversion specifiers defined by the ANSI C standard. These are aAbBcdHIjmMpSUwWxXyYZ%. The given arguments are made consistent as though by calling mktime() before calling your system's strftime() function, except that the isdst value is not affected.

The string for Tuesday, December 12, 1995.

        $str = POSIX::strftime( "%A, %B %d, %Y", 0, 0, 0, 12, 11, 95, 2 );
        print "$str\n";

strlen
strlen() is C-specific, use length() instead, see length in the perlfunc manpage.

strncat
strncat() is C-specific, use .= instead, see the perlop manpage.

strncmp
strncmp() is C-specific, use eq instead, see the perlop manpage.

strncpy
strncpy() is C-specific, use = instead, see the perlop manpage.

strpbrk
strpbrk() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead, see the perlre manpage.

strrchr
strrchr() is C-specific, see rindex in the perlfunc manpage instead.

strspn
strspn() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead, see the perlre manpage.

strstr
This is identical to Perl's builtin index() function, see index in the perlfunc manpage.

strtod
String to double translation. Returns the parsed number and the number of characters in the unparsed portion of the string. Truly POSIX-compliant systems set $! ($ERRNO) to indicate a translation error, so clear $! before calling strtod. However, non-POSIX systems may not check for overflow, and therefore will never set $!.

strtod should respect any POSIX setlocale() settings.

To parse a string $str as a floating point number use

    $! = 0;
    ($num, $n_unparsed) = POSIX::strtod($str);

The second returned item and $! can be used to check for valid input:

    if (($str eq '') || ($n_unparsed != 0) || !$!) {
        die "Non-numeric input $str" . $! ? ": $!\n" : "\n";
    }

When called in a scalar context strtod returns the parsed number.

strtok
strtok() is C-specific, use regular expressions instead, see the perlre manpage, or split in the perlfunc manpage.

strtol
String to (long) integer translation. Returns the parsed number and the number of characters in the unparsed portion of the string. Truly POSIX-compliant systems set $! ($ERRNO) to indicate a translation error, so clear $! before calling strtol. However, non-POSIX systems may not check for overflow, and therefore will never set $!.

strtol should respect any POSIX setlocale() settings.

To parse a string $str as a number in some base $base use

    $! = 0;
    ($num, $n_unparsed) = POSIX::strtol($str, $base);

The base should be zero or between 2 and 36, inclusive. When the base is zero or omitted strtol will use the string itself to determine the base: a leading ``0x'' or ``0X'' means hexadecimal; a leading ``0'' means octal; any other leading characters mean decimal. Thus, ``1234'' is parsed as a decimal number, ``01234'' as an octal number, and ``0x1234'' as a hexadecimal number.

The second returned item and $! can be used to check for valid input:

    if (($str eq '') || ($n_unparsed != 0) || !$!) {
        die "Non-numeric input $str" . $! ? ": $!\n" : "\n";
    }

When called in a scalar context strtol returns the parsed number.

strtoul
String to unsigned (long) integer translation. strtoul() is identical to strtol() except that strtoul() only parses unsigned integers. See strtol for details.

Note: Some vendors supply strtod() and strtol() but not strtoul(). Other vendors that do supply strtoul() parse ``-1'' as a valid value.

strxfrm
String transformation. Returns the transformed string.
        $dst = POSIX::strxfrm( $src );

Used in conjunction with the strcoll() function, see strcoll.

Not really needed since Perl can do this transparently, see the perllocale manpage.

sysconf
Retrieves values of system configurable variables.

The following will get the machine's clock speed.

        $clock_ticks = POSIX::sysconf( &POSIX::_SC_CLK_TCK );

Returns undef on failure.

system
This is identical to Perl's builtin system() function, see system in the perlfunc manpage.

tan
This is identical to the C function tan(), returning the tangent of the numerical argument. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

tanh
This is identical to the C function tanh(), returning the hyperbolic tangent of the numerical argument. See also the Math::Trig manpage.

tcdrain
This is similar to the C function tcdrain() for draining the output queue of its argument stream.

Returns undef on failure.

tcflow
This is similar to the C function tcflow() for controlling the flow of its argument stream.

Returns undef on failure.

tcflush
This is similar to the C function tcflush() for flushing the I/O buffers of its argumeny stream.

Returns undef on failure.

tcgetpgrp
This is identical to the C function tcgetpgrp() for returning the process group identifier of the foreground process group of the controlling terminal.

tcsendbreak
This is similar to the C function tcsendbreak() for sending a break on its argument stream.

Returns undef on failure.

tcsetpgrp
This is similar to the C function tcsetpgrp() for setting the process group identifier of the foreground process group of the controlling terminal.

Returns undef on failure.

time
This is identical to Perl's builtin time() function for returning the number of seconds since the epoch (whatever it is for the system), see time in the perlfunc manpage.

times
The times() function returns elapsed realtime since some point in the past (such as system startup), user and system times for this process, and user and system times used by child processes. All times are returned in clock ticks.
    ($realtime, $user, $system, $cuser, $csystem) = POSIX::times();

Note: Perl's builtin times() function returns four values, measured in seconds.

tmpfile
Use method IO::File::new_tmpfile() instead, or see the File::Temp manpage.

tmpnam
Returns a name for a temporary file.
        $tmpfile = POSIX::tmpnam();

For security reasons, which are probably detailed in your system's documentation for the C library tmpnam() function, this interface should not be used; instead see the File::Temp manpage.

tolower
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using the lc() function, see lc in the perlfunc manpage, or the equivalent \L operator inside doublequotish strings.

toupper
This is identical to the C function, except that it can apply to a single character or to a whole string. Consider using the uc() function, see uc in the perlfunc manpage, or the equivalent \U operator inside doublequotish strings.

ttyname
This is identical to the C function ttyname() for returning the name of the current terminal.

tzname
Retrieves the time conversion information from the tzname variable.
        POSIX::tzset();
        ($std, $dst) = POSIX::tzname();

tzset
This is identical to the C function tzset() for setting the current timezone based on the environment variable TZ, to be used by ctime(), localtime(), mktime(), and strftime() functions.

umask
This is identical to Perl's builtin umask() function for setting (and querying) the file creation permission mask, see umask in the perlfunc manpage.

uname
Get name of current operating system.
        ($sysname, $nodename, $release, $version, $machine) = POSIX::uname();

Note that the actual meanings of the various fields are not that well standardized, do not expect any great portability. The $sysname might be the name of the operating system, the $nodename might be the name of the host, the $release might be the (major) release number of the operating system, the $version might be the (minor) release number of the operating system, and the $machine might be a hardware identifier. Maybe.

ungetc
Use method IO::Handle::ungetc() instead.

unlink
This is identical to Perl's builtin unlink() function for removing files, see unlink in the perlfunc manpage.

utime
This is identical to Perl's builtin utime() function for changing the time stamps of files and directories, see utime in the perlfunc manpage.

vfprintf
vfprintf() is C-specific, see printf in the perlfunc manpage instead.

vprintf
vprintf() is C-specific, see printf in the perlfunc manpage instead.

vsprintf
vsprintf() is C-specific, see sprintf in the perlfunc manpage instead.

wait
This is identical to Perl's builtin wait() function, see wait in the perlfunc manpage.

waitpid
Wait for a child process to change state. This is identical to Perl's builtin waitpid() function, see waitpid in the perlfunc manpage.
        $pid = POSIX::waitpid( -1, &POSIX::WNOHANG );
        print "status = ", ($? / 256), "\n";

wcstombs
This is identical to the C function wcstombs(). Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather useless function.

wctomb
This is identical to the C function wctomb(). Perl does not have any support for the wide and multibyte characters of the C standards, so this might be a rather useless function.

write
Write to a file. This uses file descriptors such as those obtained by calling POSIX::open.
        $fd = POSIX::open( "foo", &POSIX::O_WRONLY );
        $buf = "hello";
        $bytes = POSIX::write( $b, $buf, 5 );

Returns undef on failure.

See also syswrite in the perlfunc manpage.


CLASSES

POSIX::SigAction

new
Creates a new POSIX::SigAction object which corresponds to the C struct sigaction. This object will be destroyed automatically when it is no longer needed. The first parameter is the fully-qualified name of a sub which is a signal-handler. The second parameter is a POSIX::SigSet object, it defaults to the empty set. The third parameter contains the sa_flags, it defaults to 0.
        $sigset = POSIX::SigSet->new(SIGINT, SIGQUIT);
        $sigaction = POSIX::SigAction->new( 'main::handler', $sigset, &POSIX::SA_NOCLDSTOP );

This POSIX::SigAction object should be used with the POSIX::sigaction() function.

POSIX::SigSet

new
Create a new SigSet object. This object will be destroyed automatically when it is no longer needed. Arguments may be supplied to initialize the set.

Create an empty set.

        $sigset = POSIX::SigSet->new;

Create a set with SIGUSR1.

        $sigset = POSIX::SigSet->new( &POSIX::SIGUSR1 );

addset
Add a signal to a SigSet object.
        $sigset->addset( &POSIX::SIGUSR2 );

Returns undef on failure.

delset
Remove a signal from the SigSet object.
        $sigset->delset( &POSIX::SIGUSR2 );

Returns undef on failure.

emptyset
Initialize the SigSet object to be empty.
        $sigset->emptyset();

Returns undef on failure.

fillset
Initialize the SigSet object to include all signals.
        $sigset->fillset();

Returns undef on failure.

ismember
Tests the SigSet object to see if it contains a specific signal.
        if( $sigset->ismember( &POSIX::SIGUSR1 ) ){
                print "contains SIGUSR1\n";
        }

POSIX::Termios

new
Create a new Termios object. This object will be destroyed automatically when it is no longer needed. A Termios object corresponds to the termios C struct. new() mallocs a new one, getattr() fills it from a file descriptor, and setattr() sets a file descriptor's parameters to match Termios' contents.
        $termios = POSIX::Termios->new;

getattr
Get terminal control attributes.

Obtain the attributes for stdin.

        $termios->getattr()

Obtain the attributes for stdout.

        $termios->getattr( 1 )

Returns undef on failure.

getcc
Retrieve a value from the c_cc field of a termios object. The c_cc field is an array so an index must be specified.
        $c_cc[1] = $termios->getcc(1);

getcflag
Retrieve the c_cflag field of a termios object.
        $c_cflag = $termios->getcflag;

getiflag
Retrieve the c_iflag field of a termios object.
        $c_iflag = $termios->getiflag;

getispeed
Retrieve the input baud rate.
        $ispeed = $termios->getispeed;

getlflag
Retrieve the c_lflag field of a termios object.
        $c_lflag = $termios->getlflag;

getoflag
Retrieve the c_oflag field of a termios object.
        $c_oflag = $termios->getoflag;

getospeed
Retrieve the output baud rate.
        $ospeed = $termios->getospeed;

setattr
Set terminal control attributes.

Set attributes immediately for stdout.

        $termios->setattr( 1, &POSIX::TCSANOW );

Returns undef on failure.

setcc
Set a value in the c_cc field of a termios object. The c_cc field is an array so an index must be specified.
        $termios->setcc( &POSIX::VEOF, 1 );

setcflag
Set the c_cflag field of a termios object.
        $termios->setcflag( $c_cflag | &POSIX::CLOCAL );

setiflag
Set the c_iflag field of a termios object.
        $termios->setiflag( $c_iflag | &POSIX::BRKINT );

setispeed
Set the input baud rate.
        $termios->setispeed( &POSIX::B9600 );

Returns undef on failure.

setlflag
Set the c_lflag field of a termios object.
        $termios->setlflag( $c_lflag | &POSIX::ECHO );

setoflag
Set the c_oflag field of a termios object.
        $termios->setoflag( $c_oflag | &POSIX::OPOST );

setospeed
Set the output baud rate.
        $termios->setospeed( &POSIX::B9600 );

Returns undef on failure.

Baud rate values
B38400 B75 B200 B134 B300 B1800 B150 B0 B19200 B1200 B9600 B600 B4800 B50 B2400 B110

Terminal interface values
TCSADRAIN TCSANOW TCOON TCIOFLUSH TCOFLUSH TCION TCIFLUSH TCSAFLUSH TCIOFF TCOOFF

c_cc field values
VEOF VEOL VERASE VINTR VKILL VQUIT VSUSP VSTART VSTOP VMIN VTIME NCCS

c_cflag field values
CLOCAL CREAD CSIZE CS5 CS6 CS7 CS8 CSTOPB HUPCL PARENB PARODD

c_iflag field values
BRKINT ICRNL IGNBRK IGNCR IGNPAR INLCR INPCK ISTRIP IXOFF IXON PARMRK

c_lflag field values
ECHO ECHOE ECHOK ECHONL ICANON IEXTEN ISIG NOFLSH TOSTOP

c_oflag field values
OPOST


PATHNAME CONSTANTS

Constants
_PC_CHOWN_RESTRICTED _PC_LINK_MAX _PC_MAX_CANON _PC_MAX_INPUT _PC_NAME_MAX _PC_NO_TRUNC _PC_PATH_MAX _PC_PIPE_BUF _PC_VDISABLE


POSIX CONSTANTS

Constants
_POSIX_ARG_MAX _POSIX_CHILD_MAX _POSIX_CHOWN_RESTRICTED _POSIX_JOB_CONTROL _POSIX_LINK_MAX _POSIX_MAX_CANON _POSIX_MAX_INPUT _POSIX_NAME_MAX _POSIX_NGROUPS_MAX _POSIX_NO_TRUNC _POSIX_OPEN_MAX _POSIX_PATH_MAX _POSIX_PIPE_BUF _POSIX_SAVED_IDS _POSIX_SSIZE_MAX _POSIX_STREAM_MAX _POSIX_TZNAME_MAX _POSIX_VDISABLE _POSIX_VERSION


SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

Constants
_SC_ARG_MAX _SC_CHILD_MAX _SC_CLK_TCK _SC_JOB_CONTROL _SC_NGROUPS_MAX _SC_OPEN_MAX _SC_SAVED_IDS _SC_STREAM_MAX _SC_TZNAME_MAX _SC_VERSION


ERRNO

Constants
E2BIG EACCES EADDRINUSE EADDRNOTAVAIL EAFNOSUPPORT EAGAIN EALREADY EBADF EBUSY ECHILD ECONNABORTED ECONNREFUSED ECONNRESET EDEADLK EDESTADDRREQ EDOM EDQUOT EEXIST EFAULT EFBIG EHOSTDOWN EHOSTUNREACH EINPROGRESS EINTR EINVAL EIO EISCONN EISDIR ELOOP EMFILE EMLINK EMSGSIZE ENAMETOOLONG ENETDOWN ENETRESET ENETUNREACH ENFILE ENOBUFS ENODEV ENOENT ENOEXEC ENOLCK ENOMEM ENOPROTOOPT ENOSPC ENOSYS ENOTBLK ENOTCONN ENOTDIR ENOTEMPTY ENOTSOCK ENOTTY ENXIO EOPNOTSUPP EPERM EPFNOSUPPORT EPIPE EPROCLIM EPROTONOSUPPORT EPROTOTYPE ERANGE EREMOTE ERESTART EROFS ESHUTDOWN ESOCKTNOSUPPORT ESPIPE ESRCH ESTALE ETIMEDOUT ETOOMANYREFS ETXTBSY EUSERS EWOULDBLOCK EXDEV


FCNTL

Constants
FD_CLOEXEC F_DUPFD F_GETFD F_GETFL F_GETLK F_OK F_RDLCK F_SETFD F_SETFL F_SETLK F_SETLKW F_UNLCK F_WRLCK O_ACCMODE O_APPEND O_CREAT O_EXCL O_NOCTTY O_NONBLOCK O_RDONLY O_RDWR O_TRUNC O_WRONLY


FLOAT

Constants
DBL_DIG DBL_EPSILON DBL_MANT_DIG DBL_MAX DBL_MAX_10_EXP DBL_MAX_EXP DBL_MIN DBL_MIN_10_EXP DBL_MIN_EXP FLT_DIG FLT_EPSILON FLT_MANT_DIG FLT_MAX FLT_MAX_10_EXP FLT_MAX_EXP FLT_MIN FLT_MIN_10_EXP FLT_MIN_EXP FLT_RADIX FLT_ROUNDS LDBL_DIG LDBL_EPSILON LDBL_MANT_DIG LDBL_MAX LDBL_MAX_10_EXP LDBL_MAX_EXP LDBL_MIN LDBL_MIN_10_EXP LDBL_MIN_EXP


LIMITS

Constants
ARG_MAX CHAR_BIT CHAR_MAX CHAR_MIN CHILD_MAX INT_MAX INT_MIN LINK_MAX LONG_MAX LONG_MIN MAX_CANON MAX_INPUT MB_LEN_MAX NAME_MAX NGROUPS_MAX OPEN_MAX PATH_MAX PIPE_BUF SCHAR_MAX SCHAR_MIN SHRT_MAX SHRT_MIN SSIZE_MAX STREAM_MAX TZNAME_MAX UCHAR_MAX UINT_MAX ULONG_MAX USHRT_MAX


LOCALE

Constants
LC_ALL LC_COLLATE LC_CTYPE LC_MONETARY LC_NUMERIC LC_TIME


MATH

Constants
HUGE_VAL


SIGNAL

Constants
SA_NOCLDSTOP SA_NOCLDWAIT SA_NODEFER SA_ONSTACK SA_RESETHAND SA_RESTART SA_SIGINFO SIGABRT SIGALRM SIGCHLD SIGCONT SIGFPE SIGHUP SIGILL SIGINT SIGKILL SIGPIPE SIGQUIT SIGSEGV SIGSTOP SIGTERM SIGTSTP SIGTTIN SIGTTOU SIGUSR1 SIGUSR2 SIG_BLOCK SIG_DFL SIG_ERR SIG_IGN SIG_SETMASK SIG_UNBLOCK


STAT

Constants
S_IRGRP S_IROTH S_IRUSR S_IRWXG S_IRWXO S_IRWXU S_ISGID S_ISUID S_IWGRP S_IWOTH S_IWUSR S_IXGRP S_IXOTH S_IXUSR

Macros
S_ISBLK S_ISCHR S_ISDIR S_ISFIFO S_ISREG


STDLIB

Constants
EXIT_FAILURE EXIT_SUCCESS MB_CUR_MAX RAND_MAX


STDIO

Constants
BUFSIZ EOF FILENAME_MAX L_ctermid L_cuserid L_tmpname TMP_MAX


TIME

Constants
CLK_TCK CLOCKS_PER_SEC


UNISTD

Constants
R_OK SEEK_CUR SEEK_END SEEK_SET STDIN_FILENO STDOUT_FILENO STDERR_FILENO W_OK X_OK


WAIT

Constants
WNOHANG WUNTRACED

Macros
WIFEXITED WEXITSTATUS WIFSIGNALED WTERMSIG WIFSTOPPED WSTOPSIG

 POSIX - Perl interface to IEEE Std 1003.1